The Bobby Jindal-Nikki Haley show in US polls

WASHINGTON: After a year-long campaign that saw dollars edging out debates, Mitt Romney has emerged as the obvious candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. All that he needs is a mate by the time GoP veterans convene in Tampa, Florida, in August to formalise the nominations.

And in the spotlight are two young Indian American governors.

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal of Louisiana and Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa Haley of South Carolina both lead conservative states in the Deep South, a region where Romney badly needs to shore up support. Both are skilled politicians and articulate. Both advocate reducing the size of government, cutting taxes and slashing spending - concepts dear to the vocal, ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Fresh Disadvantages

But Jindal and Haley also have significant drawbacks that could eliminate them from vice-presidential consideration. It's not clear that they have the gravitas to serve as able assistants to Romney in politically important states. Their fundraising prowess is also untested. And their youth - particularly with Haley - may actually work against them.

Freshness is perhaps the biggest asset that Jindal and Haley possess. As Washington political analyst Stuart Rothenberg put it, they're not "old, white guys in a party filled with old, white guys". They represent the future for Republicans who are tired of the same old, same old. They could prove attractive to the all-important independent voters - those unaligned with the Republican and Democratic parties - who have proven decisive in close presidential contests.

But the flip side of freshness is obscurity. Neither Jindal nor Haley is known much outside the solidly Republican Deep South, the most conservative portion of the country, which includes South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Few voters in populous "swing" states in the north, like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, have heard of Jindal or Haley.

Game for Swing States?

Romney would want a vice-presidential candidate who could tip the balance in his favour in these states, which have "swung" between Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in the past and therefore hold the key to the 2012 election. It's unclear whether Haley and Jindal have the stature and name recognition to pull it off. Jindal and Haley could become superb fundraisers, they may galvanise the Republicans better than the best party stalwarts, but the point is they are unproven commodities at this moment.

Another unknown that could work against the pair is the readiness question, that is, whether they will be ready to lead the country if Romney is unable to serve as president due to illness or death.

Here Jindal has the advantage among the two, having served in office for longer. The 41-year-old Jindal served as Louisiana's health-care chief, led his state's university system, served as assistant health secretary under President George W Bush, served in the US House of Representatives and was elected governor in 2007.

But Republicans still wince at the memory of Jindal's 2009 speech - the last time he was in the national spotlight - where he spoke in a fake, folksy accent and delivered warmed-over rhetoric about how government can't be trusted to respond appropriately to the crippling recession that gripped the United States at that time.

Possibilities

However, three years is a lifetime in American politics. Jindal is now a popular governor who has restored his reputation among Republican leaders. He is praised for his strong response to Hurricane Gustav in 2008 and for instituting several policy and political reforms in his state, including in the all-important arenas of education and public pensions.

Jindal was re-elected last October in a landslide. Though he had endorsed a Romney opponent earlier, Jindal promptly endorsed Romney once it became clear that the latter will be nominee.

Haley, 40, began her political career in 2004, when she won election to the first of her two terms in the South Carolina legislature, where she had a rather unremarkable career. She ran for governor in 2010 with little chance of victory, but suddenly shot to prominence after being endorsed by Sarah Palin. Haley endured racist taunts. Two men announced they'd had sex with her though they never substantiated their claims. Still, she managed to become the first female and non-white governor of South Carolina.

But the shine has worn off Haley, who has found that governing as an arch conservative is a lot harder than campaigning as one. Her popularity has plunged in her state and her political mentor, former governor Mark Sanford, said recently that she's lost her way. She has one thing in her favour - she endorsed Romney early and campaigned for him in South Carolina.